Archives

All posts for the month August, 2008

I’m a glutton for punishment. Joke. I can turn the other cheek no matter the abuse. Joke. Seriously, who can argue with what we consider an achievement, no matter how out in left field? I say let people be! What is one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure.

May 13, 2008 → The Top Ten Unique Achievements.

Janice – I joined the first Mobifilmakers contest sponsored by Discovery Channel & Nokia for Asia. I won the grand prize when I shot my film underwater in Anilao.

RC N CESS – Last Xmas party, Cess had this contest for her class: the FASTEST KETCHUP DRINKER.

King Pin – In China a few yrs ago, I joined a club called “Snake Pit”. To be a full member, I needed to take a shot of rum taken from a jar where a dozen dead snakes are soaked.t That rum supposedly acts as the preserving solution.

Joltino – During a dare, I bit into a snail.

Enca – A psychologist conducted an office-wide test to determine our traits/psych levels. Turned out, I’m the most introverted person in the entire office, and my ex was the most extroverted.

Kenya – Back in high school, I was the leader of an all-girl fight club. All-out fights with slapping, punching, and pulling of the hair, all for the sport of it.

Bia – In Bora, I won a drinking contest. We had to down a “F*ck U Archie” in one gulp. It’s a tall glass filled with 15 shots of different alcoholic drinks, no chasers and topped with tabasco.

Happy Milka – I went to a public elementary schooland when a female classmate was awarded the “Magsasaka ng Taon” medal, she was NOT happy.

RC N CESS – When I was ten, I was dared to put my whole pinkie finger up my nose for 500 pesos. I won it.

(Paraphrased from: The Book Of ZEN, Edited and illustrated by Tsai Chih Chung and Translated by Koh Kok Kiang)

A general was toying with his prized antique. As he handled it, he dropped it and it almost shattered into pieces had he not caught it in time. He thought to himself, “I have commanded tens of thousands of troops to risk my life in battle, and was never afraid. Why then did I become so agitated over a small cup?”

He finally realized that it was attachment that brought about the fear of loss, thus causing him anxiety. Hence he flipped the cup over his shoulder and smashed it.

“Where there is knowledge and feeling of gain and loss, there is pleasure and sorrow. To go beyond good and bad, gain and loss, is true fortune.”

This is a favorite passage of mine that somehow, touches an extra raw nerve these days…

Mothers are among the most quotable people, whether it’s something noble or something shameless. But we love them anyway. We did this way past Mother’s Day (I think), but it was still worth doing. Sorry if you sent your name but I credited it here as “no name”, because the way I copy/pasted it came out wrong. A lot of the messages came out cut.

I came across this amusing website called FutureMe.org. It allows you to send yourself an email, a couple of years in the future. I chose 5 years as the length of time for my email to reach me. So basically, I wrote an email that will be sent to me, 5 years from now. So you might be thinking, duh, but you wrote the email, doofus, so what’s the point?

It’s basically like writing yourself a letter, locking it up somewhere, and reading it again 5 years later. It’s like reading an old journal entry, or looking at old pictures of yourself. I guess 5 years from now, I’d like a peek at my state of mind, 5 years ago, which is now, but will be 5 years ago, 5 years from now. Clear?

It just started out as something interesting to do on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, just to while away the idle time. What I didn’t realize was that I had quite a load to get off my chest. I suddenly felt like I had so many things to say, stuff that I didn’t want to tell ANYONE…until now. I realized I was the only person I wanted to say these things to. It’s weird, I wouldn’t blame you if you thought I was losing it, but writing to myself felt like I was talking to my oldest, dearest long-lost friend. I didn’t feel like editing, I didn’t see any need to sugar-coat anything. It was the most relieved I’ve been in such a long time. I didn’t realize I just needed a good one-on-one with myself. I swear, it felt like therapy. Nothing was resolved, but the pressure was sort of lifted. I also realized just how weird and messed up I actually am.

So anyway, you might want to give it a try. Write yourself something and send it to your email address some time in the future. Maybe after a year, 5 years, 20 years, it’s your choice.

We’re all perverts to a degree. It’s just a matter of how much. Or how much we are willing to admit. Or what we consider perversion. Again, kinkiness is in the eye of the beholder. As far as perversion is concerned, I take the fifth.

Espeks – I have a friend who rides the FX and uses his elbow as his main weapon to feel the hot girl beside her.

Muldr’s Luvr – I think I’m a perv because I always fantasize about doing “it” w/ my young, tall, fresh and good-looking subordinate who has flawless skin and smells good even when he’s sweating. Oops, too much info…sorry.

KiD BuKid – Perverts’ rooms smell like Clorox!

Jose de vengenge – Guys please don’t judge me for admitting this ah. I get excited when I read/hear rape stories in the news especially if they’re detailed.

SUPAH GODDESS – Whenever I see the armpits of John Lloyd Cruz, Jake Cuenca and Richard Gutierrez, oh goodness, I start to have erotic images of them.

McMaki – If you try to stand close to people so you can sniff how they smell.

Dox – I can’t eat a banana or sausage without choking at some point.

Purplerose – You’re a pervert when you stay underwater in a pool for hours even if you can’t swim just to look at the “different” view from below the water.

No name – You are a pervert if you have a copy of one of the following not-so-wholesome animated movies: “Snow White Does the Seven Dwarves”, “Beauty Digs the Beast”, and the all-time favorite, “The Loin King”.

M.E. – My husbnd saves a lot of those porn videos in his phone. I get angry when his phone memory is low because of this. But when he’s asleep, I secretly take a peek at the videos.

KiD BuKid – If you always fake having sore eyes, so you’ll get away with getting immediate “medication” from the lactating young Moms!

Diemyrus – If you’re happy when you’re packed like sardines in the MRT.

No name – Kapag binobosohan mo ang sarili mo.

ACER – Back in college, we deliberately wear basketball shorts when in a jeepney, and sit a certain way so that when girls in short shorts get on, our knees rub their legs.

Jose de vengenge – When on a date, ang paalam mo pag iihi ka: “Excuse me, I have to shake hands with a friend of mine who hopes to meet you after dinner..”

I was still able to take quite a bit of photos during the San Pablo trip, but a lot of the pictures didn’t fit in with the narrative of the trip (hehehe…arte). So I decided to just put the rest of the pictures in a separate post so it doesn’t clutter the other one. Basically these are the “wala lang” pics, taken in the 3 lakes, Kusina Salud, and Carlitos house. Most are just still life stuff. Hope you like ’em.

We decided to visit the 7 lakes of San Pablo, Laguna, or at least whichever lakes we can visit in a day’s worth. It was farther than I expected, since Laguna doesn’t sound to me as far as Batangas or Quezon. But it was far and I was struggling to keep awake while behind the wheel because I hardly had any sleep for 2 days. But sheer perseverance kept us going, despite getting lost at one point, and we finally got to out first lake, Sampaloc lake. It was the biggest and most visited lake, since it was circumnavigated by a concrete road, so it was very accessible.

The pictures we took may look picturesque, but the reality of the lake is a bit more two-faced in quality. One one side of the road is the serene lake, on the other, crowded settlements, many of which are composed of squatters. But as always, the children were lovely.

After that, we got into Amazing Race mode and hired a tricycle driver as our guide to the lakes. Apparently, in the many years he’s been a driver, he said it was the first time he was hired to take tourists around. It seems no one really wants to see the 7 lakes, at least not in a tourist-y way. When we got to the second lake, Bunot, we had to scamper after 1 shot because the clouds started to threaten. So we left with literally one shot of the lake each.

We got tired and hungry quick, so we opted to have an early lunch at Kusina Salud. The buffet was DELICIOUS. My ultimate fave was the Paco salad. I swear, I must’ve had 3 platefuls of the green delight. There was also fresh lumpia, baka sa gata, and chicken binakol. I also loved the dessert, the scrumptious turon with latik. One of the best meals I’ve had. BUT. And it’s a big BUT. Food is one thing, service is whole new ballgame altogether. First, we found ants in 3 out of 4 pandan iced teas. So they replaced it. Then we found ants in the soup. When we told the waitress, April, she bluntly told Fritzie, “Ganyan talaga Ma’am, nasa gubat tayo eh!” then turned around and left. Flies must’ve had fun flying in and out of our gaping mouths. Unbelievable rudeness. Even if let’s say it were true, would it have hurt her to at least apologize? To say they’re trying their best but it just can’t be avoided? I’ve eaten in Sonya’s Garden, Antonio’s, The Farm, places also surrounded by plants and trees, but they never served ants with their food and expected their customers to take it because…”nasa gubat tayo, eh.” It just spoiled a perfectly lovely meal.

After the bittersweet meal at Kusina Salud, we proceeded to lake #3, Palacpaquin lake, where we didn’t even get a single shot in, except for Lennie who took ONE photo, before the rain poured in celestial buckets. It was raining so hard that we couldn’t even go back to the car. we had to take shelter in a graffiti-littered warehouse that probably stored darak because of the ripe aroma that pervaded it. We stayed there for what felt like hours. The downpour wouldn’t let up and I actually squeezed a nap in, laying my head on my camera bag.

Finally we decided that the trip was officially over. We accepted the bitter fact that the rain wouldn’t stop, that the lake would overflow, and that if we didn’t leave, we’d be tilapia food for the next week or so. We rushed to car, stuffed our gear, and started the car. The moment The car started…the rain stopped. Like a cruel cosmic joke. So like the deranged addicts that we were, we rushed back down to the lake, took as many photos as humanly possible, until the rain started pouring again.

After that, we went to Carlitos, where the artist demoed how to sculpt with brass, then after, a toe-curlingly yummy ginatan and suman with rice coffee merienda. We were stuffed. It was an exhausting and frustrating photo trip, but we never say never. We always think that we’re simply paying our dues, and honing our crafts, as often as we can. And of course, we’re constantly praying for that one photo, that money shot, that makes any photo trip worth all the tears and pain.